"For too long Congress has lost sight of its responsibility to be a good steward of your tax dollars. Just like Hoosier families must make decisions about what to buy and how to save, I believe our government needs to make the same kind of disciplined decisions and live within its means."

"Today our nation is facing unprecedented economic challenges that have required bold action to protect our jobs and savings, as well as sustain our economy. While I believe that these actions were necessary, we must not lose sight of the government's responsibility to be good stewards of our tax dollars."

-    Congressman Donnelly

Click the bullet points to learn more about Congressman Donnelly's work to get our fiscal house in order:

• Supporting a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution
  
• Voting Against Spending
• Promoting Tax Relief for Hoosier Families and Small Businesses
• Voting Against the "Republican Budget"

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Supporting a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution

Congressman Donnelly is a strong supporter of a balanced budget amendment because it can be used to help get our fiscal house in order. Congressman Donnelly believes that having a balanced budget amendment in place is crucial for our country to go beyond speaking about tough decisions and actually making them.

Voting Against Spending

Congressman Donnelly believes our nation would be well-served by some old-fashioned belt-tightening. In the three years since coming to Congress, he has voted against more than $2 trillion dollars in government spending. Congressman Donnelly is committed to smart investments in our national economy, but believes that Congress needs to trim costs just like the hard-working families in north central Indiana have already done.

Promoting Tax Relief for Hoosier Families and Small Businesses

During these challenging economic times, we must do everything we can to provide relief to struggling Hoosier families and businesses. With this in mind, Congressman Donnelly voted for H.R. 1, The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on February 13, 2009. This legislation cut the taxes of 2.2 million Hoosiers by up to $400 per worker and $800 per couple. The bill also provided small businesses with $10 billion in tax cuts so that they can continue to contribute to our economic recovery.

On February 16, 2012, Congressman Donnelly voted for H.R. 3630, The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act, which was later signed into law. This legislation keeps in place payroll tax relief for employees by reducing their obligation from 6.2% to 4.2% of wages, and the self-employed by reducing their obligation from 12.4% to 10.4%, until December 31, 2012. Congressman Donnelly voted for this legislation because he knows how important this tax cut is to Hoosier families. It's used for car payments, mortgage payments, or groceries—it matters to working- and middle-class families.

Additionally, on August 1, 2012, Congressman Donnelly vote for H.R. 8, The Job Protection and Recession Prevention Act, which extended the Bush-era tax cuts for all Americans for one year and kept all tax rates at their current levels. Congressman Donnelly's top priority is improving the economy and getting Hoosiers back to work. With our economy still recovering, Congressman Donnelly believes it make sense to keep all tax rates low for at least another year.

Voting Against the "Republican Budget"

On March 29, 2012, Congressman Donnelly voted against the Republican budget proposal. The annual budget debate in Congress is about setting priorities and this budget prioritizes the wealthiest Americans over America's working- and middle-classes families, seniors, and students. The Republican Budget would burden our seniors with significantly higher health care costs by ending the Medicare guarantee and providing seniors with vouchers that may not cover the cost of their health care. Because of its misplaced priorities, especially in ending the Medicare guarantee, the Republican Budget is unacceptable.